One of the country's best-known rugby players recently called it a "torturous b**tard of a road" and anyone who drives the Cork to Limerick road on a regular basis cannot but agree.
A regular traveller to Thomond Park from his home in Cork, former Ireland and Munster player Peter O'Mahony was just nine years old when an upgrading of the Cork to Limerick road was first mooted in 1998.
He is now 35 years old, a family man with an illustrious career and the road remains for all intents and purposes unchanged - a hotchpotch of dangerous bends, climbing lanes, limited sections of dual carriageway, with some 625 access points along it.
Jari Howard, who heads up the N/M20 Cork to Limerick Motorway Project said Mr O'Mahony's comments "hit a real note with ourselves and landowners along the way".
"I think he summed it up well. I won't repeat the phrase - people have heard it enough - but it is a stressful road to do, especially if you have to do it on a regular basis," said Mr Howard.
Over the past three decades, some 70 people have lost their lives in road traffic related incidents along the route, Mr Howard said.
The road is considered one of the most dangerous in the country.
Mr Howard heads up the team charged with developing the design and business case for a new 80km dual carriageway and motorway between the country's second and third most populous cities.
This week he briefed more than 100 public representatives from both counties on the final design which, if approved, will cut travel times between the two cities by 30 minutes, with a completion date of 2035.
Mr Howard confirmed that the chosen route - which it is estimated to cost between €1bn-€3bn - will impact on some 200 farms, and up to 20 houses.
"All of this is impactful to the landowners and homeowners but we try to work with them to come up with designs, and mitigation in accommodation works which help minimise that impact.
"There will be points that there will be disagreement [on] and that's part of the statutory process when we go to An Bord Pleanála but they [the landowners and householders] can voice their concerns with those issues and they can be looked at by the board and then obviously afterwards, if we are successful in planning, there is a process there for valuation and compensation."
The final route includes an 80km motorway from Blarney, where the existing dual carriageway is, into Cork city, and up to the existing M20 at Patrickswell.
There will be a dual carriageway/motorway all the way with 100km of three-metre wide active travel paths for walking and cycling, some near the new motorway and others on the existing N20, which will be declassified.
Seven transport hubs will be created along the route at Rathduff, Mourneabbey, Mallow, Buttevant, Charleveille, Bruree and Croom with a freight hub earmarked for Mallow.
Following Monday's briefing of public representatives, the project team held public meetings in Charleville, Adare and in Mallow to brief the public.
"The whole detail is there [on the displays] from fence to drainage ponds, accommodation under and over passes, where we are re-aligning local roads or creating new local roads, particularly south of Mournabbey where we are widening the existing N20 and we have to connect the existing farms and properties because they won't be able to access directly.
"So that's 625 entrances and junctions along the N20 that we are taking down to nine. Nine strategic junctions so people will travel to these junctions to get onto the motorway from there," said Mr Howard.
The project also includes the construction of six new road bridges, eight new river bridges, two new railway bridges and up to 60km of associated local roads.
The business case for the upgrade to motorway status will go to the Department of Transport for both departmental and external review later this year, and subject to approval, Transport Infrastructure Ireland will apply for planning permission for the work in 2026.
"We would hope that by 2027 we have planning, and in 2028 we can start breaking ground and do the enabling works. Our plan for this (project) is that it will be constructed in a number of contracts - three to four contracts - broken up logically wherever the new road meets the old road.
"We believe the first priority should be the bypasses of Charleville, Buttevant and Mallow. We see them going first, followed soon after from Mourneabbey to Blarney, and then from Croom to Patrickswell."
This is welcome news for the residents of all three towns, especially Charleville where in the past decade, ten pedestrians have died on the town's main street after being struck by vehicles.
Eight of these involved heavy goods vehicles, while the majority of incidents involved elderly pedestrians.
While it will be at least 2031 - another six years - before any of the bypasses are scheduled to open, Evelyn O'Keeffe of the Charleville Community Forum said they welcome the decision to give priority to the bypasses.
But she hopes the Government will commit to construction funding.
"They've committed to all the other studies - environmental, route, but, as yet, we haven't seen any funding ring-fenced for the construction phase," she said.
In the interim, she is now calling on Cork County Council to implement safety measures on the town's main street until the bypass opens.
Cork Chamber has also expressed hope that the Government will provide the necessary construction funding saying it is vital they commit to it, and to delivering the route on time.
CEO Conor Healy said: "This long-awaited project has the potential to transform connectivity in the southern region, enhancing Ireland's overall economic competitiveness and unlocking opportunities for investment and development in the south of Ireland.
"It is vital that Government commits to funding and delivering the M20 in line with the projected timelines to provide certainty for local communities, businesses and other stakeholders."
But confirmation that the route will be tolled has raised the hackles of some public representatives.
Both Cork North Central TDs - Thomas Gould of Sinn Féin and Labour's Eoghan Kenny - told the Cork Echo they would strongly oppose any planned toll.
As the project team prepares to move to the next stage and submit its business plan to the Government before the end of the year, Mr Howard said large projects like these take time but "we design bridges and roads for 120 years - they are there for a long time but we are as keen as anyone else to get in, get started. Planning is the key and then we can really get going".
"You can see what is happening with the Adare Bypass and the Ringaskiddy Bypass - those projects took a lot of time to get to fruition but once they are going, people are just so happy to see that work going on," he added.
